I am curious about the Queen's ancestry because I saw her included in a list of biracial people. Obviously, her father was German and her mother was Brazilian, but what made up the "Brazilian"? My guess is Portuguese, maybe some Spanish and ...? I'm not asking in a negative way, I'm just curious; I think her family story is probably very interesting. (I guess I could be considered biracial myself.)

Hmmm... Well, Silvia's mother, Alice de Toledo, was Brazilian. The Sommerlath family even lived in Brazil for some years. I don't know for sure about Brazil, but most of the south americans both have European and native American ancestry. So maybe Silvia, through her mother, has some native Brazilian ancestry. But I think it was said in another thread at Royal forums, that Silvia should be called bicultural, not biracial.

For instance, her grandfather was born in Chicago in 1860 but died in Germany in 1930. So, he was an American citizen but went home to Germany. I wonder why, since so many Germans were coming to the US at about the same time. (And even though Diana's "American" roots were well touted, Silvia's have never really been mentioned -- then again, I don't know many people who are interested in Swedish royalty or genealogy.)

I know we Americans really can't claim a significant contact with the family. But at one time we liked to comment on Princess Diana's American ancestry through her mother (I think a great-grandfather was either born or raised in the US). Sort of like how some of us are intrigued that the Queen shares ancestry with George Washington (or even me to Camilla or Crown Princess Pavlos).

I know we Americans really can't claim a significant contact with the family. But at one time we liked to comment on Princess Diana's American ancestry through her mother (I think a great-grandfather was either born or raised in the US). Sort of like how some of us are intrigued that the Queen shares ancestry with George Washington (or even me to Camilla or Crown Princess Pavlos).

That's it, magnik! It's surprising how these people are related, isn't it? (Or maybe not, since only the elite kept genealogical records well in the very early days, and the first American immigrants had to have a certain amount of money to make the passage.)